Importing Video Level Nightmare

FCP5 in a G5.

I opened up an NTSC 8-bit, 48 KHz Uncompressed timeline. I imported a QuickTime (I believe PhotoJPEG) from the in-house video system.

The artist created a 720:486 animation (It's a commercial) and it's at 24.

Nattress took care of the 3:2 pulldown addition and the frame sizes just fell right in. The thing plays back--with sound--from the timeline in perfect order...except for one thing.

It's too bright.

Somehow, FCP got it in its craw to add the Famous Mac 1.2 Gamma Boost to the picture. Even if you sweet-talk the white and black points to be correct (and they didn't come out quite right either) the mid grays aren't anything close to 50%--but they were when they left the animator.

I'm used to this kind of thing happening with imported stills--Macs do not play well with others--but this is the first instance I've ever encountered where FCP did it to a movie.

Make it stoooooooop!

I can hear people leaping for their keyboards to tell me I'm a victim of the 16-235 thing. Nay, nay good buddy. That only affects white and black (that happens all the time on the Avids).

That may be wrong, too, but it's clearly not the only thing wrong. This is a gray distortion and it only happens in Macs.

Koz

Have you try to change the "video processing" to "Render in 8-bit YUV" and set the "Process Maxium White as :" to "White" ?

It should be all right for converting the image in RGB to YUV color space

Sequence Settings > Video Processing

Antonio

<<<Sequence Settings > Video Processing>>>

I wondered how to do that. It's a clicky on the Avids.

I'm hoping to goodness that it not only makes the levels come out right, but clears up the gamma thing as well. The gamma isn't supposed to change between YUV and RGB. Just the video level.

We'll see. Thanx,

Koz

<<< It should be all right for converting the image in RGB to YUV color space>>>

When does that setting count? Before I import the work into the bin? Before I drag to the timeline? I've changed the setting a couple of times and it doesn't seem to make any difference.

I know you can't change the Sequence Settings with anything present on the timeline, so I started with a clean timeline each time. No difference.

????

Koz

".... I know you can't change the Sequence Settings with anything present on the timeline..."

No, you can change everything in anytime, except the time base.

However, it is strange, you should see some luminous different when you switch between the RGB/YUV or White/Super-White settings.

Antonio

I'm watching the work at the output of the Kona2 card because that's where I have the scopes and good monitors.

I can certainly change things when I apply the [Video, Levels] filter. That's how I'm getting the work out the door now. To throw significant mud in the game, I *also* have to use Nattress to go from 24 to NTSC, and I have a certain amount of filter fuss over that, but even before I framerate convert, I don't see any change.

To be clear: I put my QuickTime (at 24) onto an uncompressed NTSC timeline and the blacks are too high and the whites are too low (and the gamma is wrong, but we'll get to that). The Sequence, Video settings are apparently already Render 8-Bit YUV, White. I render and the standards are now wrong (without Nattress) but the video levels didn't change.

If I pick render RGB, I get a very slight jiggle to the video, but no brightness changes.

I also have a still with gray chips on it:

[www.kozco.com]

Those are clearly RGB and when I drop one of those onto the timeline, it doesn't make any difference which standard (YUV/RGB) I pick for render.

If this doesn't match what you're doing, then I'm clearly doing something wrong--or there's a problem with FCP.

I'll see if I can post a little piece of the video.

Koz